This paper is based on the observation that fifth year Medicine students do not have enough skills in statistics, IT, or information management to adequately prepare and implement research projects. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe the experiences obtained by using the cooperative learning method and to present the results obtained by students in their research projects. In order to meet the proposed objectives the cooperative learning method was applied to several topics of the Public Health course in the Medical Program. Consequently, students were divided into five groups to interact with health care specialists and workers, workers from other sectors, and the general public. They identified the most urgent health problems in a participative manner and conducted a research project. The students’ acceptance of the method was evaluated using an exploratory statistical technique. As a result, students analyzed data, drew conclusions, and participated in debates having the professor as the facilitator and coordinator. All groups successfully presented the results of their research projects, which included 2 projects on the control of Dengue and the Aedes aegypti mosquito and 3 on potential maternal mortality risks. Surveys reflected acceptance of the method. The experiences obtained by using the cooperative learning technique and the results obtained by students in their projects are described; this experience should be systematized.

This article represents the systematization of different experiences related to educational field trips in higher education taking place between 2005 and 2012 within the Primary Education Division (DEB) at Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica. Field trips were used as an educational resource to develop attitudes and aptitudes in students from various education majors. The author proposes pedagogical field trips as a possible strategy to promote innovation in higher education and achieve a positive change in teaching and learning processes. Field trips are presented as a tool that allows students to complete their coursework in a more significant and participative manner being in contact with the educational reality and to become humanized and to reinvent themselves as persons and future teachers.

This paper addresses a priority for student training in general and particularly for future engineers. Although this issue has been frequently addressed in recent years, proposals are still insufficient for engineering students. This paper is aimed at theoretically and empirically demonstrating the potential of continuing education as one of the key areas that engineering schools have for the comprehensive training of students. Preliminary results of a research project commissioned by the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Electrica-FIME) of Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico, are presented to respond to the need to improve the learning process of students with a comprehensive approach. The research justification and some of the results obtained in the exploratory phase are also described.

The present study is aimed at proposing a model of organizational structure for university institutes binding with the Venezuelan socioeconomic reality. This is a descriptive nonexperimental cross-sectional research study. The study population included 746 professors and administration from the Cabimas and Maracaibo Technological Universities. Data was collected using a questionnaire consisting of 54 items and analyzed using the percentage frequency distribution. Results obtained indicate the sub-systems not integrated in the studied institutions, coexisting bureaucratic structural typologies, and a clear decontextualized implementation of the nation’s plans, which shows low relevance and relationship to the Venezuelan socioeconomic reality. To remedy this situation, a mixed departmental/matrix organizational structure model was designed that integrates the department into a matrix network linking teaching, research, and social action projects. The implementation of this model was proposed in three stages or phases in order to achieve the operational characteristics of the departmental model.

The purpose of this study was to determine and describe the relationship between psychological well-being, spirituality at work, and self-reported health by faculty and staff from Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica. Participants included 397 women and 258 men (n = 655). Data was collected using psychological well-being and spirituality at work scales and a self-reported health questionnaire. High values were found in the purpose in life (6.08±1.08), self acceptance (5.96 ± 1.06), social functioning (2.47 ±0.37), meaning of work (5.95 ±0.89), and inner life (5.81 ± 1.09) categories. The lowest average values were reported in the following categories: interpersonal relationships (3.78 ± 0.87), autonomy (3.91 ± 0.83), and environment mastery (4.63 ±0.75). Significant correlations were found between the psychological well-being, self-reported health, and spirituality dimensions. In conclusion, it is important to take into consideration the subjective aspects of personnel well-being and to determine which areas need intervention in order to promote a healthy university environment.

The author systematically performed a quantitative research study of the factors associated with academic performance from a socioeconomic point of view in students from Universidad de Costa Rica. Using multiple regression models, the author analyzed factors associated with the academic performance of students awarded the highest level of scholarship because of their socioeconomic status and students not applying for a scholarship because they are enrolled in majors with high or low demand at Universidad de Costa Rica. This paper provides an explanatory framework on the subject, as well as inputs for the management of public higher education. One of the main findings indicates that academic performance is a multicausal and highly complex phenomenon. The paper also highlights the main institutional, pedagogical, and psychosocial factors associated with academic performance, taking into account the socioeconomic component.

The main purpose of the present research was to report the experiences of teachers in juvenile correctional institutions, their challenges, and professional development needs. Research was conducted using a qualitative descriptive phenomenological methodology through a semi-structured interview applied to four teachers from the Juvenile Correctional Institutions Administration (AIJ) in Puerto Rico. The information was analyzed based on the systematic qualitative research procedures proposed by Strauss and Corbin (1998), cited by Lucca and Berríos (2003): open, axial and selective coding, respectively. Teachers were greatly satisfied for providing educational services. A relevant finding is the lack of a curriculum that fits the needs of this youth population. The curriculum used is the same as the one used in public schools, which makes it unappealing to these students. These teachers face unusual challenges, including the institutions’ security system and the teaching and learning methodology. A lack of coordination is perceived in the educational services and a multidisciplinary team is needed to address the cognitive and emotional aspects of the population. Like teachers in any other educational system, respondents obtain some achievements and satisfactions that strengthen them spiritually and motivate them to continue working in these institutions for many years.

The linguistic competence of preschool teachers are an ongoing referent in the linguistic development of preschoolers since teachers are models for them, because they constantly use oral communication to work, play, and give instructions. Regarding this premise, this paper is aimed at analyzing the linguistic competence of a group of preschool teachers at the lower transition level. Based on the observation of teachers working at the Chilean National Board of Early Education (Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles) in the western area of the province of Santiago, a study was conducted regarding teachers’ conversational discourse. It is proposed that higher language skills in teachers promote the oral language development of young children.

This paper presents the experiences of a group of students with disabilities or educational needs in their professional development at the National University in Costa Rica. Based on the experience obtained in the Quality Education Project from Universidad Nacional (UNA) (UNA Educación de Calidad) between 2008 and 2012, the work team decided to focus on ways to support and follow up on this diversity group, particularly taking into consideration the collaborative work done by participants during the workshops for this period. To facilitate the project, the workshops were grouped into modules by topics. Results show the complexity and different shades of the collaborative actions between the groups of students in order to respond to the current educational reality. Based on the results, the need for the project team to continue developing this constructivist methodology is clear in order to allow participants to continue offering their contributions to the rest of the university community using their own interests and skills.

This article summarizes a counseling experience with parents from educational institutions in the provinces of San José and Heredia, Costa Rica. The multiplier modality was the strategy used in the Social Action Project entitled “Family Strengthening”, from the Education for Work Division (DET) at Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica. A group of counseling professionals and educators from this Division trained eighteen professionals, including counselors and other specialists, as facilitators on topics such as family communication, anger management, family worldview, and project planning in order to work with parents using a participative methodology, which took into account the experiences of participants involved in family counseling projects. Projects were implemented in 9 institutions, and a total of 105 mothers and 6 fathers participated. The section summarizing achievements highlights the impact of the methodological shift from “lectures” to parent participation, where they share their own vital experiences on family life. Knowledge obtained has been essential for expanding and continuing this parent counseling project.

Between 2011 and 2012, two of the entities responsible for managing and deciding onthe initial and continuing education of Costa Rican teachers, the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) and the National University (UNA)11, developed a research process to support the construction of knowledge related to the inclusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in educational contexts, and at the same time, participate in the generation of innovations that help to create and guide national educational policies and teacher preparation. This research project is based on the recognition of learning activities supported by ICTs and implemented by teachers in the Basic General Education (EGB) as a way to guide their educational work towards critical and collaborative spaces that promote learning and are relevant to those involved. This study considered fourteen of the educational regions in which the MEP divides the country: Desamparados, Limón, San Ramon, Los Santos, Pérez Zeledón, Grande de Térraba, Puntarenas, Aguirre, Coto, Liberia, Upala, Cañas, Santa Cruz, and Nicoya. The theoretical framework is based on the contributions by César Coll (2005), who departs from the existing relationships in, what this author calls, the interactive triangle, a methodology that refers to the study of relationships between three elements: content, the teacher’s instructional and educational activities, and the students’ learning activities. This paper addresses nine of the categories Coll (2005) points out as frequent mediation practices involving ICTs. In addition, the research establishes three categories to understand the circumstances and the reasons why Costa Rican EGB teachers use ICTs during their pedagogical practices. This paper was developed by an interinstitutional team of researchers from the National University and the Ministry of Public Education.

This article is based on a class taught by the author in a Professional Development workshop addressed to students majoring in Counseling. The paper includes basic elements that must be taken into consideration to prepare the design of a work model, which should be used as the referent to guide the counseling process for interns as well as for new professionals. The article provides a general overview of each element in the design, including the importance of knowing the general philosophical framework of the Counseling field. It briefly describes the step-by-step process to be followed from each theoretical and practical referent. In addition, it includes the ethics component required to promote the ethical performance of duties of every professional and the compliance with the code ruling the professional’s expected behavior. A brief review of the necessary attitude of professionals is included at the end as well as the role to be taken in the different areas. The article is aimed at offering novice professionals with a guide that will help them develop the expertise necessary to add an epistemological positioning to their practice.

This article refers to the professional practice of Counseling with an intercultural perspective to face multicultural contexts. The paper reflects on coexistence as a social challenge in multicultural contexts and analyzes the importance of culture in the creation of personal identity, and the resulting need for it to be considered in every counseling action. Principles, purposes and characteristics of the intercultural perspective are presented as an integrative model for the attention of cultural diversity, as well as some arguments to define intercultural counseling. The attitude, knowledge and skills to be developed by counselors to be interculturally competent are also mentioned in the paper. In addition, the study lists all those skills that should be promoted in the counselor’s clients to create a positive coexisting interaction based on their differences.

The main purpose of this paper is to place the person as the basic element in education and, particularly, in the pedagogic mediation process. Based on her own personal and professional experiences, and inspired by writers such as Gutiérrez, Krishnamurti, Maturana, Morin and Prieto, the author uses the terms student-person and teacher-person as a way of truly re-discovering and re-learning that vital element immersed in a magical relational space, where the human being is strengthened as an individual and as part of a planetary family. Most of all, the author gives the deserved emphasis to the bond constructed from a true intertwining emotional flow. Academic insides are accompanied by experiences based on the use of the Parallel Text as a pedagogic mediation strategy, as well as by the feelings and emotions felt during this experience in the university classroom.

This essay reflects on those teaching experiences that have a strong influence on students and allow teachers to grow as individuals as well as professionals. The author approaches positive affection towards students, which allows children to be emotionally well adjusted, consequently, promoting their desire to learn, attend classes, and have good social relationships with their peers, and allows teachers to have confidence and high self-esteem. Emphasis is placed on the fact that educators must treat students well, know their family environment, solve their emotional deficiencies, if any, and show empathy towards them. In short, teachers are encouraged to give priority to affective relationships in their pedagogical practice. The author also includes some experiences from her professional practices, where affection towards children was essential.